Financial Controller - EMEA

Howett Thorpe; Egham; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working pattern

Private Healthcare

Pension scheme

Job summary

Howett Thorpe is partnering with a global organisation to recruit a Financial Controller - EMEA on a 6-month fixed-term basis. The role focuses on a revenue recognition reconciliation project across the EMEA region, reviewing accounting treatments, balancing reconciliations, and investigating historic discrepancies to ensure accurate reporting.

The successful candidate will handle complex data, challenge assumptions, and drive root-cause analysis, playing a hands-on role in improving processes

Qualifications

• Strong technical accounting knowledge and IFRS/US GAAP expertise.
• Experience in complex financial reconciliations and historical discrepancy investigations.
• Project-focused revenue recognition experience, including POC accounting.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of a revenue recognition reconciliation project across multiple EMEA entities.
• Review and reconcile revenue-related balance sheet and P&L accounts.
• Investigate differences between revenue recognised and underlying contracts, projects, and billing data.
• Analyse historic accounting entries to understand how balances arose and determine corrective treatment.
• Prepare or recommend correcting journals and adjustments and ensure IFRS/US GAAP compliance.
• Challenge existing treatments and work with stakeholders to resolve issues and improve processes.

Skills

Technical accounting

IFRS knowledge

US GAAP knowledge

Reconciliations

Analytical skills

Investigative skills

Problem solving

Education

ACA/ACCA/CPA/CIMA

Job description

We're partnering with a global organisation that supports some of the world's most recognised brands and enterprises. This position is being represented to the market on a 6-month fixed-term basis and therefore requires someone who is immediately available or able to start at short notice.

This is a highly visible, project-focused role that will suit an experienced accounting professional with strong technical accounting and investigative skills. The primary focus of the assignment will be a revenue recognition reconciliation project across the EMEA region, reviewing existing accounting treatment, reconciling revenue-related balances and investigating historic discrepancies to establish accurate and reliable reporting.

The successful candidate will need to be comfortable working through complex accounting data, challenging existing assumptions and getting into the detail to understand how balances have arisen. You will identify root causes, resolve discrepancies and help establish stronger processes and controls around revenue recognition going forward.

Financial Controller - EMEA - Benefits

• Hybrid working pattern
• Private Healthcare
• Pension scheme

Financial Controller - EMEA - About The Role

You will need resilience, tenacity and a hands-on approach. This is not a role for someone who simply wants to oversee an established reporting process. We are looking for someone who enjoys unpicking complex accounting issues, reconciling historic balances and getting to the root cause of reporting discrepancies.

Working as part of the wider EMEA finance function, the successful candidate will take ownership of a significant revenue recognition reconciliation project. You will review revenue-related accounts and supporting data across multiple entities, identify inconsistencies between accounting records and underlying commercial information and determine the appropriate corrective action.

A key element of the assignment will be understanding how revenue has historically been recognised, particularly within a project-based environment, and ensuring that balances are supported, reconciled and accounted for correctly under the appropriate accounting standards.

You will work closely with stakeholders across Finance and the wider business to obtain supporting information, challenge existing treatments and resolve outstanding issues. Alongside correcting historic discrepancies, you will also help identify weaknesses within existing processes and recommend improvements that create greater accuracy and control around revenue reporting in the future.

Key Responsibilities

• Take ownership of a detailed revenue recognition reconciliation project across multiple EMEA entities.
• Review and reconcile revenue-related balance sheet and P&L accounts, identifying historic discrepancies and unsupported balances.
• Investigate differences between revenue recognised within the financial accounts and underlying contracts, projects, billing information and supporting documentation.
• Review the application of Percentage of Completion (POC) accounting and other revenue recognition methodologies across relevant contracts and projects.
• Analyse historic accounting entries and transactions to understand how balances have arisen and determine the appropriate corrective treatment.
• Investigate complex revenue recognition queries and identify the root cause of accounting and reporting discrepancies.
• Prepare and post, or recommend, appropriate correcting journals and adjustments.
• Ensure revenue is recognised appropriately in accordance with IFRS and US GAAP requirements.
• Work closely with Finance and operational stakeholders to obtain and validate supporting information.
• Improve the quality and integrity of revenue reconciliations and supporting documentation.
• Identify weaknesses within existing revenue recognition processes and controls and recommend practical improvements.
• Establish clearer and more robust reconciliation processes to support accurate revenue reporting going forward.
• Support the wider finance team with revenue-related accounting queries arising during month-end and reporting cycles.
• Provide clear visibility to senior finance stakeholders regarding outstanding issues, findings, corrective actions and project progress.

The Successful Financial Controller - EMEA Will Have

• Strong technical accounting knowledge, particularly in relation to revenue recognition.
• Strong knowledge of IFRS and US GAAP.
• Previous experience of Percentage of Completion (POC) accounting and accounting for project or contract-based revenue.
• Demonstrable experience of undertaking complex financial reconciliations and investigating historic accounting discrepancies.
• Experience working within a complex, multi-entity and international environment.
• The ability to work through significant volumes of financial data and supporting documentation to identify inconsistencies and root causes.
• Strong problem-solving, analytical and investigative skills.
• Excellent critical thinking skills with the confidence to challenge existing accounting treatments and processes.
• ACA, ACCA, CPA, CIMA or equivalent qualification.
• Significant accounting experience within complex finance environments.
• A track record of improving accounting processes, reconciliations and financial controls.
• The ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities and deliver against a defined project timetable.